Haskell, for those not old enough to have watched "Leave It to Beaver" on television, was a teenage character who spoke in an impossibly polite manner around adults, then turned into a conniving wise guy the moment they left the room.

It became apparent Wednesday that Jennings, the longtime Packers wide-receiving stalwart who signed with the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent in March, has the same ability to say whatever is convenient based upon his audience.

After taking potshots at quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers organization on multiple occasions since he left Green Bay seven months ago, Jennings tried hard to convince Wisconsin reporters Wednesday that he was just joking around. He didn't exactly succeed. Then again, what was he going to say since the Packers and Vikings will meet Sunday night at Minnesota?

"I was just really razzing a little bit with Aaron, just knowing how he is and just going back and forth with some of the guys," Jennings said. "It wasn't meant to hurt anyone's feelings. It was just really messing around initially, and then everyone kind of blew it a little bit out of proportion. I have the utmost respect for that organization.

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I had my most successful years there, and I still have relations with some of the guys over there and still have the respect that I had when I was playing there with them."

Jennings, a popular, intelligent and often charming player during his seven seasons in Green Bay, said he was messing with Rodgers because the quarterback, playing to the crowd at the Wisconsin Sports Awards in April, jokingly said "Greg who?" when asked about Jennings. OK, then. That accounts for the June interview when Jennings refused to call Rodgers by name.

But what about his subsequent comments about Rodgers? "You get respect when you give respect," he said at one point. Another time, he said Rodgers made it about him and not the team. Finally, Jennings claimed the Packers squashed individuality and brainwashed players into thinking their franchise was better than others.

Still, Jennings said he's not concerned about burning a bridge with Rodgers even though he admitted he hasn't talked to him.

"If Aaron knows me like he's known me over the past seven years, then he knows I'm not one of those guys that wishes ill will on anyone or tries to stand out and be apart from the team," Jennings said. "Hopefully he knows that. I can't live in the past or what was said. I have to move on. I know and you guys know that he's a great quarterback. He's the best player in the game."

Despite Jennings' attempts to convince reporters he doesn't have an ax to grind, it was obvious he isn't happy with certain people in the Packers organization. He could be mad about Green Bay not re-signing him even though it once offered him a contract for $11 million a year that he rejected, only to sign later with the Vikings for $9.5 million a year. He could be mad about having to share the ball -- and the spotlight -- with so many talented receivers in Green Bay, something that's not an issue in Minnesota. It also seemed like he was upset with Rodgers for not going to bat for him in contract negotiations like he once did with wide receiver James Jones.

Jennings said he didn't regret his decision to sign with Minnesota even though the Vikings have had three starting quarterbacks and only one victory in six games. He repeated his hard-to-believe claim that he left so the other Packers receivers could spread their wings.

When asked if he was unhappy about anything in Green Bay or if he just took his joke with Rodgers a little too far, Jennings opted for the latter.

"I probably took it a little too far," he said. "No, I was happy there. Obviously, there's things that go on throughout life that you wish would be different. But it is what it is. You have to roll with the punches. Obviously, on my end of it, I feel like there were a lot of things that were kind of manipulated to appear a lot worse than what I was intending for them to be. As a player, you have to watch what you say. So you learn and you grow."

Most of the Packers, clearly following coach Mike McCarthy's orders, declined to comment in any meaningful way about Jennings. Rodgers said the players are ignoring outside distractions and focusing entirely on Sunday's game.

It wasn't until a reporter asked Rodgers how someone who famously carries a chip on his shoulder over any perceived slight could forget about Jennings' comments so easily that Rodgers showed any feistiness.

"I didn't say anything about forgetting," he said. "I just said focusing. It's about what you should spend energy focusing on and thinking about and worrying about. Those are things that are important to this team. Those comments by anybody out there just aren't important to what we're trying to do."

As he said it, Rodgers was no more convincing than Jennings had been earlier. Or, for that matter, than Eddie Haskell ever was.